Skin Care Tips to Get You Through the Winter

Here's How to Keep Your Skin Looking Its Best Despite the Cold

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Winter has landed and it’s a cold one for sure. Not only do chilly winds give us some serious seasonal depression; they also burn and dry out our faces, leaving our skin in need of some serious R&R. Whether you like hitting the slopes or you’re more of a Netflix-and-chill kind of guy, no man on earth loves the red cheeks, chapped lips, and dry, cracked skin the colder climates bring.

If you live anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon Line, you’re in for a solid four months of temperatures that hit freezing on the regular. It’s time to wake up to the cold, harsh realities (literally) of winter and really prepare your skin for the frigid air. Taking care of your skin should be just as important as brushing your teeth or changing your underwear, especially since the weather outside is frightful. Getting into a routine of cleansing and moisturizing your face and neck as frequently as possible is crucial to keeping your skin delightful.

Where To Begin

Winter skin care isn’t just restricted to overdosing on the moisturizer. There are tons of products on the market designed to help your skin deal with the chill, or bring your skin back from the point of dehydration.

Moisturizer: If moisturizing your skin is already a part of your daily skin care regimen, kudos! But with winter here, it might be time to kick it up a notch — not just any moisturizer is going to cut it against the winter winds. Look for a moisturizer that helps to repair and maintain your skin barrier. A layer of sebaceous (or oily) lipids covers your skin. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, these sebaceous lipids are triglycerides, wax esters, and squalene, while epidermal or non-sebaceous skin lipids are a mixture of ceramides, free fatty acids, and cholesterol. These lipids are primarily hydrophobic, which means they repel water or if used in a moisturizer, can help keep it from escaping. So be on the lookout for products containing these emollient ingredients to strengthen your skin's natural barrier, helping hold on to essential moisture.

Cleansers: Just because moisturizing is your #1 priority come winter doesn’t mean you should skip out on cleansing your face. With the cold winds come dry skin, and with that comes dead skin cells. Dead skin cells build up and clog your pores, provoke blemishes, and can just leave skin looking dull. Look for gentle cleansers with chemical exfoliators such as salicylic acid to exfoliate without scrubbing at already stressed skin.

Serums & Oils: When the wind really starts blowing, moisturizers may need an extra boost. Break out the heavy-duty skin care protection with a serum or an oil. These penetrate deeper below the skin to help retain moisture. Start your skin care routine by using serums with hygroscopic vegetable glycerine, to attract water, and hyaluronic acid to keep it in. “Hyaluronic acid is extremely hydrophilic and biochemically retains water,” as cited in this study published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Finish off by using oils such as jojoba and argan for their ability to mimic your skin’s own natural oil and their very low comedogenic rating, which means they shouldn’t clog your pores.

Masks: A good face mask can bring your skin back to its former glory after an extra-blistering day in just minutes. Look for one that clears pores while hydrating and soothing.

So now that you have a better idea where to start, let’s dive in a little deeper. To help you begin, we’ve divided the products into familiar skin types — dry, sensitive, oily, and normal — to help you find the best product for you.

What To Use If You Have: Dry Skin

Dry skin and winter weather can be a nasty combination. If you have drier skin, the cold weather can leave it looking ashy, flakey, and well, just very dry. One key tip for those guys with extra dry skin: Avoid long, hot showers. A warm, steamy shower could feel like just what you need to help rejuvenate your skin, but switching from the cold outdoors to the steam and extreme heat of the showers can actually cause even more dehydration.

The same idea goes for cleansers: They can be tough on dry skin. Find a friendly one that cleanses without stipping natural oils. In addition, look for an oil or serum with hydrating or replenishing powers to apply before your daily moisturizer. This will allow your moisturizer to have double the hydrating power and lock in as many nutrients as possible.

Lip Moisturizer

When it comes to dry skin, the thin skin of the lips tends to be the first to go. The best way to keep lips hydrated on the daily is to look for a hydrator that has hyaluronic acid and glycerin to maximize moisture and something to lock that moisture in, such as beeswax, cocoa butter, or various oils.

Super Serum

There’s a reason your parents told you to eat your fruits and vegetables: vitamins. In particular, vitamin C. It’s loaded with antioxidants that keep skin smooth, boost collagen, and reverse discoloration. Opt for something that multitasks with hyaluronic acid and peptides to get the most bang for your buck.

What to Use if You Have: Sensitive Skin

What we suggest to combat sensitive skin is to go for products with minimal chemical makeup — artificial dyes, fragrances, alcohol — and instead opt for a product that uses natural ingredients to moisturize, cleanse, or heal the skin. It can be tough for guys with sensitive skin to moisturize without skin turning oily or greasy, so look for products that advertise less oil or lighter formulas. Also, don’t forget that SPF is important. Even in the winter months you need to protect your skin every time you go outside.

Hydrating Facial Mist

Using a hydrating mist formulated to help keep skin fresh is a simple and sensitive skin-friendly way to add moisture when your face needs it most. Ingredients such as cucumber and lavender help to sooth skin without being weighed down in a heavy lotion. Spray it on when you need a pick-me-up for your dry office heat or after coming in from the cold.

Protective Moisturizer

Finding a moisturizer that uses minimal ingredients may not always be so easy. A great way to find a moisturizer that is likely to leave your sensitive skin alone is to look for something that is without any preservatives, parabens, or fragrances so that it can give your skin the hydration it needs without fillers that may irritate.

Mineral Sunscreen

Even in winter, the sun can damage skin — especially sensitive skin. Protecting that fine face of yours with a mineral sunscreen is important. Mineral sunscreens are best for sensitive skin because zinc oxide and titanium dioxide sit on top of skin to form a barrier instead of absorbing into skin like chemical sunscreens do, which can result in stinging, irritation, and redness.

What to Use if You Have: Oily Skin

Moisturizer can be kryptonite for those with oily skin — if it’s too thick, greasy, or oily, you’re looking at a shiny face primed for breakouts. Especially in the winter, when moisturizer is your best friend, it can be a catch-22 for those with oily skin: Do you let your skin dry out or do you over-moisturize and leave your face oily? For those with an oil-prone face, look for a moisturizer that advertises both lightweight and oil-free properties.

Exfoliating can be the key to getting a grip on oily skin. A good exfoliating product — be it an acid, scrub, or mask — removes any buildup of dead cells or bacteria that can cause skin to work overtime producing oil. However, be careful. You may think that the more you wash your face, the less oil will stay on your skin. Not true. Too much scrubbing can irritate and redden your skin, causing it to go into oil overdrive. Stick to a gentle nightly and morning wash.

Face Cleanser

Cleansers and soaps are not the same. You actually don’t want soap in your facial cleanser. Soap may clean, but it leaves behind more drying residue than a cleanser formulated to rinse away completely. If you are oily but run into dry patches over the winter, it can make it that much harder to find a cleanser that feels like it’s both cleansing and moisturizing. Look for salicylic acid to get rid of dead skin cells and get deeper into pores to help prevent clogs.

Special Treatment

Sometimes cleansing isn’t enough. Masks are the quick, easy, Instagramable way to help keep oil under control. The trick is to find one that does its job without drying. You don’t have to have it one way or the other — you can actually have skin that doesn’t feel oily or dry. Gentle chemical exfoliants and soothing ingredients should work together, not against each other.

What To Use If You Have: Normal Skin

Consider switching to a denser moisturizer that protects skin while it moisturizes during the winter months. Because of the dry air and cool temperatures, the cold air sucks the moisture right out of your skin. To help your skin survive, keep an eye out for products containing glycerin. The humectant helps draw moisture into the skin and traps it there, leaving skin looking energized. If your skin isn’t used to the consistency of glycerin, don’t worry — it make take a few days to see the positive effects.

Lip Balm

Lips don’t discriminate. You can have the softest skin known to man and can still get a mean chapped, cracked lip. After a long day, the best thing we can do for our lips is give them a special dose of moisture. Shea butter and canola honey are great heavyweight emollients that work hard day or night to keep lips from drying out.

Protective Moisturizer

No matter what the makeup of your skin, your best bet is to have a good quality, simple moisturizer on hand (and on face) that you know is going to work best for you. A great combo for normal skin is glycerin to moisturize and a protectant to hold onto that moisture.

Sleep Mask

You might be asleep, but while you doze, your skin is its most active. Your cells are regenerating, your skin is losing moisture, and it’s actually more receptive to anti-aging ingredients. Consider this the time to put on the potent stuff to reap the most rewards come morning. Ingredients such as avocado to moisturize, PHA (polyhydroxy acid) to exfoliate, and kaolin clay to suck up oil-clogged pores work best when you’re not working at all.

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